Trip Report: Barcelona / Costa Brava

Wonderful start - keep it coming!

I'm awful at posting official trip reports so I admire anyone who does it - particularly when english is not your native language.


I just returned from 2 weeks in Catalunya and this is already bringing back memories.

That's hilarious that you found common ground with your taxi driver in a Metallica CD.

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report!

am enjoying your report and observations.

have taken note of the hotel/apartment and your english is impeccable!

I'm enjoying this trip report and looks like you found a wonderful place to stay. I too thought it was funny about the cab driver and metalica. Amazing how music can unite us all, huh? Looking forward to more. (Don't worry about your English--it's better than many native speakers)

"Music brings people together"

Probably the people who said that did not exactly think of Metallica!

(I usually do not listen to Metallica, but my son has a CD of Metallica playing together with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and this is quite good. I sometimes listen to it when I do my workout.)

From Gaudi to Ronaldinho

Our first walking tour into the city led us to the cathedral (they charged an entrance fee! a church!) and from there through the art nouveau district to the Gaudi houses. In front of both Gaudi houses were lines as long as those in front of the “Pirates of the Carribean”. In fact, casa Battlo would easily fit into Disneyland because it looks as if it was made from bones, and the balconies resemble skulls – but in a neat, not frightening way. A little bit like a Halloween house.

http://barcelona.sehenswuerdigkeiten-online.de/sights/casa_batllo.html

We made some pictures of the bone façade and took the underground train to the Sagrada Familia.

http://www.sagradafamilia.org/

From many pictures, we had got the impression of a filigrane building in consistent style. Being there, we learnt that Gaudi had not completely planned the building and that many extensions had later been added by his followers. And these followers had a taste for the 1960ies concrete style which gave the church a barren touch.

Several hundred tourist buses with running engines in front of the church added to the overall impression of the site. Furthermore, it had begun to rain.

Deeply disappointed, we needed food. Since it was already afternoon, we went for tapas. We headed to Taller de Tapas which was around the corner from Hotel Boria (l’Argentaria). It turned out as a classical tourist trap. Lots of American and English tourists, hardly any native people. Nice room with exposed stone wall, but cramped, noisy atmosphere. Water dripping from hundreds of umbrellas.

The waiters spoke English, which was, as we should learn later, not a good sign. We had our best dining experiences in restaurants where the staff didn’t speak any other language than Catalan or Spanish.

The quality of food was mixed. Salted cod (bacalao) with vegetables was excellent, but filet of beef terrible, other dishes mediocre. I ordered duck foie gras (confirmed by waiter) but was served filet of beef. We paid pretty steep 40 Euros per person including wines and drinks. Value for money was not really good. Would we come back? No way.

The next morning, we prepared a hearty breakfast on our hotel room. Did I mention that Joan Miro was a child of Barcelona? Well, when you heat up sobrassada (a soft version of chorizo) in a microwave oven, you will get a Miro-style decoration on the kitchen wall.

Sensitized to modern art, we headed for Parc Guell, another Gaudi creation. From the nearest underground station, it was a pretty long walk, but we thought it would be too difficult to find the bus stop (the whole area was a mess of a construction site).

Parc Guell was as crowded as the Taller de Tapas with pretty much the same type of persons there. Something like a trade fair for digital cameras. But it was quite fun there, with lots of playfulness. A meeting place for international students on school excursions. When it started raining, we headed for the bus which stood conveniently in front of the entrance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_G%C3%BCell

While the rest of our family decided to rest, I took my football-enthusiastic son for Camp Nou, the sanctuary of the world’s football fans (I mean real football, not a version of rugby).

It is a rather long ride with the underground train into a suburb. When we left the station the rain had developed into a downpour. From the underground station you walk a kilometer or so to the stadium, across parking lots and mostly on unpaved ground. Since the downpour had developed into a monsoon, the way resembled the Colorado River after opening Lake Powell Dam.

Completely soaked, we reached the arena which looks more like an ultra-contemporary office building than like a sports stadium. Somehow we found the entrance to the stadium tour, bought tickets and made the tour. It is self-guided and leads you to the changing rooms, where Ronaldinho dresses, to the bathrooms, where Ronaldinho takes his shower, to the chapel, where Ronaldinho prays, to the conference room, where Ronaldinho gives TV interviews, to the toilet, where Ronaldinho releases his bladder, and to the marble VIP stands, from where you can watch Ronaldinho playing.

You visit a nice football museum and the tour ends in the gift shop where you can buy a Ronaldinho jersey.

When we left the arena, the monsoon had developed into a strong monsoon, and after reaching our apartment, under the hot shower, we felt like Ronaldinho after a tough match in England.

www.fcbarcelona.com

We had dinner in Michelin-starred restaurant Abac where we went by feet (Carrer del Rec). The wait stuff looked puzzled when we took off our waterproof hiking boots and changed to fine leather shoes which were more appropriate for the place. But for the way to the restaurant and back, waterproof boots were far more appropriate.

Abac had a quiet, stylish ambiance, one of the restaurants where you hesitate to make a joke. Beige colours and light wood dominating. International atmosphere. Extremely professional and friendly service. We had a tasting menu of 10 courses.

High-class gourmet cuisine with regional products and sophisticated Catalan dishes like razorshell clam and suckling pig. We paid 120 Euros per person including wines and drinks. Value was okay for the quality. Would be come back? Probably, but it was our second-best dining experience in BCN.

www.restaurantabac.com/

To be continued. Next installment: Old ships and modern art.

Old ships and modern art.

The next morning, the weather had improved a lot, which meant, there were some dry minutes between one shower and the next. We walked through the Barri Gotic and over the Ramblas – Barcelona’s McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken strip.

Instead of filling ourselves with burgers or cheap paella (yes, there are “Spanish” restaurants on the Ramblas, with photographs of their dishes on display) we visited the marine museum which is one of BCN’s most impressive attractions. The museum is right within the historic shipyards and displays some dozen ships of all sizes as well as other exhibits from naval life. The centrepiece is an imposing full-size galley, complete with flags, seamen, cargo and a rat.

www.museumaritimbarcelona.org

Afterwards, we rode up to the Fundacio Miro, which was crowded by German tourists and hardly anyone from the USA. It is startling how the tastes differ between continents. However, if you like Miro or not: The museum, the roof garden, the view over the city – everything is spectacular. Similar to Fondation Maeght in St. Paul-de-Vence on the Cote d’Azur. We did not visit the Picasso Museum, because we have seen many Picasso Museums in other places – but Miro is Barcelona’s most famous son and was always deeply rooted in Catalunya (including Mallorca).

www.bcn.fjmiro.cat

From there, we took the cable car to Barceloneta, with most impressive views. Highly recommendable. In Barceloneta (kind of slum area), we imagined beach life without rain, and walked over to the site of the Olympics with breathtaking modern architecture.

http://www.pobasa.es/

For dinner, we decided to be modest. From Hotel Boria, we walked around the corner to Mercato Santa Caterina. This is a medieval market hall with a brand-new, Gaudi-inspired roof. Inside the market, there is a nice casual restaurant which is extremely popular among young locals. Visited by local intellectuals. Informal yet sophisticated atmosphere: a high wooden ceiling, a large open storage rack with wine bottles, coffee boxes etc. as the outer wall, four open kitchens. Since we arrived there early (around 8 p.m.,) we had no problem to get a table, but 20 minutes later a long line formed at the entrance. The patrons are spectacular as the ambiance. Something like the catwalk on a Milano fashion show.

Food was surprisingly good and dirt cheap. Regional fare prepared in contemporary style. Excellent suckling pig (Catalan specialty) and tuna tartare with guacamole. Fresh-made fruit cocktails. The waiter was happy that we wanted wines from the region. He recommended us the very best wine which was 12 Euros per bottle. Later we found out that the Cuines Santa Caterina (the official name of the restaurant) are operated by the owners of the Moo, the ultra-contemporary 2-Michelin-star-restaurant of Hotel Omm). We paid 29 Euros per person including wines and drinks. Good value. Would be come back? Absolutely (in fact, we did).

http://www.bcnrestaurants.com/Eng/barcelona.asp?restaurante=cuines-santa-caterina

The next day, we picked up our rental car and drove to Montserrat, an ancient monastery with a most picturesque setting between steep mountains. Looked very romantic with all the heavy clouds around the peaks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Montserrat

Dinner turned out to be the absolute culinary highlight of our trip. Again, we chose a restaurant in walking distance: Commerc24, an ultra-hip restaurant. Commerc24 is located within an old textile factory. The whole place is dark grey, with bright red cushions on the seats and benches. The patrons, mostly locals, a young and sophisticated crowd, are all dressed in black (besides a few tourists in shorts and tennis shoes).

Friendly service, quick but not faultless. Highly creative, adventurous cuisine. We ate the smaller menu and were served not less than 13 dishes. Expect dishes like sepia ravioli filled with porcini, or tuna tartare with salmon caviar, or raw sepia with black rice and guacamole, or oxtail with truffled cauliflower-potate-puree and chocolate mousse in olive oil with salted bread.

A once-in-a-lifetime dining experience. We paid 87 Euros per person including sherry, wines and drinks. A bargain. Would be come back? Absolutely!!!

www.comerc24.com

(For those who are knowing: The chef, Carlos Abellan, has spent 12 years working with Ferran Adria, who runs the El Bulli. This says it all.)

http://www.elbulli.com/

Next installment: Cadaques – the white dove on the Costa Brava

I'm enjoying your report. We also had excellent meals at Cuine Santa Caterina and Comerc24.

I'm really enjoying your report. Cuines Santa Caterina sounds wonderful, makes me want to go out this weekend and try it, if only I weren't several thousand miles away.

Great report!

Incidentally, the fee for the Cathedral is new. Last year it was absolutely free to stroll around the cathedral, but you had to pay to get to the roof. Now, they say this: 'Entrance is free if you have a ticket. A ticket costs 5 euros.'

Cadaques – the white dove on the Costa Brava

The next day we left BCN and miraculously the sun broke through the clouds. For the rest of the trip we had perfect weather – as you would expect at the Costa Brava.
We drove north along the coastal highway. Driving along the Costa Brava is like switching between heaven and hell. We saw most beautiful villages, romantic harbours, secluded bays and castles residing above azur-blue ocean. And we drove through the ugliest seaside resorts I have ever seen in my life. The names of hell are Malgrat de Mar and Lloret de Mar, while the road between Tossa de Mar and Sant Feliu is one of the world’s most scenic coastal drives.

www.infotossa.com

After having a picnic on one of the secluded beaches, we drove further north to our next destination, Cadaques. Spain is famous for its “white towns”, and Cadaques is the most beautiful white town in Spain. Doubtless. Because it is not only white – it is a seaside town. Thanks to its greatest son, Salvador Dali, Cadaques has no high-rise or any other ugly building. It is spectacular.

http://www.virtourist.com/europe/cadaques/index.html

Reaching Cadaques is also spectacular. The only road to Cadaques is winding through the mountains, which can be pretty – if there was not an endless line of cars, campers, tourist buses and trucks. Fortunately, in the morning, the line goes into Cadaques, and in the afternoon out of Cadaques, and since our hotel was in Cadaques, we always drove in the better direction.

In Cadaques, we stayed at Hotel Rocamar, which is a nice three-star-hotel with spectacular views of the town. It has access to two beaches (too cold in April), an outdoor pool (too cold), an indoor pool (warm), tennis courts, a beautiful terrace, a bar, and a restaurant.

www.rocamar.com

In the restaurant, we found a dish named “suquet” on the menu. The waiter explained, it is a fish soup, a zarzuela just with fish and without other seafood. Today, the suquet would be made from the catch of the afternoon, which was turbot. Turbot! Of course, six persons ordered suquet. The waiter offered to prepare a salad with shrimps as appetizer and a selection of desserts for 24 Euros per person. We thought, okay, a three-course dinner with turbot as the main course for 24 Euros, let’s fetch a magnifying glass to find the fish in the soup! What we got, was a whole turbot – per person. To be sure, it were baby turbots, but each plate was filled. The soup was a little sauce over the fish with potatoes and vegetables. A feast!

Of course, we had local wines with our dinner. The wine came from Castillo Perelada, a vineyard directly on the peninsula, and was served for 8 Euros – not per glass, per bottle. The sparkling wine, which was, by the way, excellent, was more expensive – 11 Euros.

http://www.castilloperelada.com/

Cadaques is wonderful for walking through narrow streets, with sights around every corner. The beach, though pebbly, is very romantic, with colourful fisher boats, ropes and old seamen mending their nets.
Cadaques’ main attraction is Salvador Dali’s private house in Port Lligat, a small village, a few kilometres from Cadaques.

Fortunately, we had made our homework and had read in our guidebook that reservations are required. It was no problem to call the museum and make a reservation for a time window according to our wishes.

It is ethically not correct, but you get a somewhat good feeling if you see dozens of tourists without reservations being rejected at the entrance while you are walking through the gate with a broad smile on your face. Salvador Dali’s house is just spectacular. Cadaques is spectacular, the village of Port Lligat is spectacular, the setting of the villa is spectacular, the view over the bay is spectacular, and the interiors are spectacular. You will immerse into a surrealist world. It would be unfair to reveal too much – but may I mention the swimming-pool formed like a giant penis complete with… (okay, I stop here)?

http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/portlligat/en_index.html

From Port Lligat, it is a short drive to Cape Creus which is crowned with a lighthouse. Dali called Cape Creus a “grandiose geological delirium” and that is a very proper description of the place.

http://www.cbrava.com/capeng.htm

We still did not have enough from Dali and drove over to Figueres. There is an old theatre which was converted into a giant piece of artwork by Salvador Dali. Do not expect a typical art museum with pictures hanging on the walls. The Dali Theatre Museu is different, very different. Again, you must see by yourself. We waited for an hour in line (the revenge for our schadenfreude in Port Lligat), but it was worth every second.

http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/figueres/en_index.html

Well, what did we in the evening? Of course, Castillo Perelada sparkling, Castillo Perelada white, Castillo Perelada rosé, Castillo Perelada red. For dinner, we chose the three-course menu of day for 15 Euros per person. The main dish was anglerfish in bell pepper sauce. Again, everybody got a whole anglerfish, cooked to perfection. Unbelievable!

To be continued: Next installment: A detour into the French Pyrenees and into a Catalan Monastery

Love your report, traveller. I'm planning a similar trip for 2008.

The next day we decided to drive up to France, into the Pyrenees. We paid a short visit to be beautiful town Ceret (where DW spent some summers in her youth) to buy some supplies in a gourmet store. Then we took the narrowest road we could find and drove up into the mountains.

http://www.ot-ceret.fr/

On the way up to Mont Canigou (it is the highest mountain in the eastern Pyrenees, its silhouette is on Dali’s painting “Perpignan Station” which hangs in Köln), we found the ruins of a romanesque church besides the road – with a perfect view on Corsavy – a mountain village that makes look Eze like an industrial suburb. We were running around the church (did I mention perfect weather?) and met a flock of horses grazing on open range.

http://www.corsavy.co.uk/

Some minutes later, a farmer came with a 1958 Renault and my FIL, who spent his youth with horses, when he was prisoner-of-war on a farm in Northern France, asked the farmer for what purpose he raised the horses because they had no horseshoes? And the answer was “pour manger”. The next time I will bite into my horsemeat steak, I will remember spectacular mountain scenery and Romanesque ruins!

After chatting some time with the farmer (who insisted to be no Frenchman, but Catalan) we continued up until the road ended. We hiked a little further until the snowfields began and decided to have picnic in a lower elevation.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pic_du_Canigou

It should be our last meal in the hotel restaurant, so we decided to order a brandy after dinner. The waiter, who made friend with us during the last three days, offered several brands. We decided to take Cardenal Mendoza which we considered the best that he had. Since the ladies did not choose to take a brandy, we ordered four glasses (for FIL, the boys, and myself).

The waiter take four cognac glasses, looked at them and put them away. After checking several types of glasses, he was content with oversized Burgundy glasses. And he poured. When he started, the bottle was ¾ full, but he had to open a second bottle until he decided that he had our glasses properly filled. After he served us the four glasses of Cardinal Mendoza (with the contents of a whole bottle), he poured us two more glasses of a different brand of Spanish brandy which we should try (let me mention that he charged us 24 Euros – 4 glasses à 6 Euros – for the whole stock of alcoholics).

Luckily, we were sober enough to empty just half of our brandy and to take the leftovers to our rooms to hide them there for the next day.

http://www.epinions.com/fddk-Spirits-By_Name-All-Sanchez_Romate_Cardenal_Mendoza_Solera_Gran_Reserva_Brandy_de_Jerez

The last day, we spent rather relaxed. We visited the Church of Cadaques and drove northwards along the coast. On the way back, we visited a monastery called Sant Pere de Rodes. The monastery has a spectacular setting high on a mountain over the sea, and is historically significant.

We found it also significant that the little cafeteria in the monastery served Castillo Perelada sparkling wine and decided after some deliberation to order a bottle. The couple from Oklahoma at the next table gave us disapproving looks, probably because my brown hiking boots didn’t match the color of my blue jeans.

http://www.cbrava.com/santperees.htm

For dinner, the hotel restaurant was closed. So, we walked into town to eat in a local restaurant. We still did not have Zarzuela, so we ordered it. It was not better than the Suquet in our hotel, but still very good.

To our surprise, our waiter from Hotel Rocamar was seated at a neighboring table together with a gorgeous blonde. We hardly recognized him, because he was dressed in black leather with chains and bells – quite different from the waiter’s outfit. He probably was a Metallica fan, too.

But he nodded approvingly that we had found Cadaques’ second best restaurant.

The rest of the evening, we spent on the balconies of our hotel rooms and sipped the leftovers of the brandies from the night before.

On the last day, after a leisurely breakfast, we drove back to BCN. Since it rained again, we decided to spend a good part of the day eating. We chose Nou Celler, Carrer de la Princesa.

Rustic atmosphere. Mostly locals. Friendly, efficient service, albeit speaking no other language than Catalan and Spanish. But communication worked, especially since the dishes are on display at the bar.

We ordered tapas. Rustic regional dishes of good quality. We paid 18 Euros per person including wines and drinks. Excellent value. Would we come back? Absolutely.

Then it was time to drive back to the airport, which was uneventful, besides that we spent some hours in the duty free store to buy some liquid Spanish specialties for souvenirs.

The end.

I'm enjoying this report so much, and really like the way you've included links to the various places with the report.

Totally agree with you about Taller de Tapas, but alas, I was very disappointed with the Theatro de Dali in Figures, though DD loved it.

Although I haven't been to Cadaques (was afraid to let DH drive there--he drives like an Italian ), but have fallen in love with so many villages in Spain, no way could I pick one as my favorite.

Thanks for your report.

perhaps the most pleasant report on the barcelona area i have read. it is very nicely written and interesting.

Thank you all for your nice comments. It encourages me to write more trip reports.

Just found this excellent report....saving for the future..

<<I hesitated writing a trip report, because English is not my native language and my report would be full of mistakes.>>

Well, you can put that concern to rest. This is one of the best reports I've read -- full of information and good humor.

Love this comment. "The couple from Oklahoma at the next table gave us disapproving looks, probably because my brown hiking boots didn’t match the color of my blue jeans."

Wonder if you are correct. A lot people do seem to be concerned about what to wear in Europe. Or maybe they wish they'd worn the same thing and been comfortable.

Keep on writing!

ttt

Best kind of report!
Informative and very entertaining. You also have a great sense of humor.

Oh one more great thing, you seem to enjoy food as much as I do! Love the details re restaurants & menus.

Thanks for posting.

amsdon:

if you like good food you may look up this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35130513

Thanks yes I am enjoying it! I had not seen it before.

thanks for bringing this back to our attention. Great report. I'm going again in end of Dec. Can't wait.

Julie:

In the meantime, I have posted another trip report about England - including some culinary surprises:

www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35148574

Hi traveller 1959 thank you for the great trip report and all the valuable information. I will be in Cadaques this Oct. Do you recall the name of the restaurant in town where you saw your waiter? thanks

The name is "Es Baluard". Many consider it the best restaurant in town. Do not expect the refined gourmet cuisine which is so abundant in Barcelona but solid, regional cuisine with the freshest fish and seafood (the fishing boats dock on the beach right in front of the restaurant).

The specialty is Zarzuela (fish and seafood casserole). Turbot is also excellent. But what do I tell! Look at the pictures on their website:

www.esbaluard-cadaques.net

thank you again, I will remember this place. I love the location in the town. We will be there 3 days staying in a friend's empty apt. We are very lucky. Sadly my partner does not like fish even though his father grew up in Figueres but this may be explained by the fact that his mother was British, no offence and yes he likes fish (battered, of course) and chips. I like crab and prawns etc. but not too extensive with the fish dishes but there are lots of other choices. My partner has said he is concerned that all we will get is fish on our trip and I said, no way, there will be everything. Anyway I know a Greek woman that doesn't like kalamata olives and she sells them in her parent's bakery/cheese shop.

As far as I remember, the sole at Es Baluard was indeed battered - however not as thick as the British like it (so that it tastes mainly for fat).

Of course, you can get meat or vegetarian dishes everywhere - but seafood is the specialty on the coast.

BTW, I have made the experience that some people who usually despise fish and seafood do like it when it is really fresh.

E.g. our son did not like fish - except in very good restaurants and until in our hometown a new dealer opened his business who now sells us really fresh fish. Now, he is crazy for fish! Obviously, mainly a matter of freshness (look for clear eyes and rosy gills).

Great report! Thanks for posting it.